New Jersey Spotlight: 100 Steps Kitchen + Raw Bar

100 Steps Kitchen + Raw Bar, located in Cranford, New Jersey, is a contemporary seafood restaurant that aims to blend a sophisticated dining experience with the atmosphere of a social club.¹

What Makes it Unique & History

100 Steps is modeled after the great supper clubs, designed as a place where customers can run into neighbors and friends, fostering a sense of community alongside great food.² The “raw bar” is a seminal component, showcasing exceptionally fresh, seasonal oysters and other shellfish sourced direct from the boat by a dedicated fishmonger.³

A Key Chapter in its History involves the return of Executive Chef Kara Decker.⁴ She originally helped in the concept, design, and launch of 100 Steps in its infancy.⁵ After a period away, she returned following a transition in ownership to proprietor Jack Tagmouti. Decker, who received classical French training from The French Culinary Institute, is known for her “gutsy, decidedly un-shy dishes” that draw from the Mediterranean repertoire.⁶ Her return marked a reinvention of the menu, focusing on fortifying the restaurant’s strengths and powering forward with bold, complex flavors.

Highlight Menu Items

The menu is seasonal and inventive, with a focus on fresh seafood and raw bar selections.

Raw Bar

• OHS Grand Tower: A substantial offering featuring a double oyster sampler, 6 clams, 4-piece shrimp cocktail, mussel escabeche, octopus carpaccio, and wakame seaweed salad.⁷

   

• Oysters & Clams: They offer a rotating selection of East and West Coast oysters, with popular choices historically including Cape May Salts (NJ) and varieties like Seaduction (VA) and Gaia (New Brunswick, CAN).⁸ They also feature Littleneck Clams.⁹

   

Appetizers and Small Plates

• Slow Braised Spanish Octopus: A signature dish.¹⁰ The octopus is tenderized and then charred, served with an emulsified pimentón vinaigrette and an escabeche of endive and black kalamata olive oil.¹¹ One review praised it as “Smoky-to-the max” with acidity and salinity.

   

• OHS Burrata: Served with baby watercress, caramelized figs, walnut crumble, and a port wine balsamic reduction.

Entrees & Pasta

• Mussel Pot: Featuring chorizo, saffron, garlic cream, thyme, and rosemary olive oil bread for dipping (the restaurant is BYOB, and the rich cream sauce is noted as wine-friendly).¹²

   

• OHS Pappardelle: With PEI mussels, baby spinach, herb butter, lemon bread crumbs, and a saffron-tomato broth.¹³

   

• Pan Seared Bronzino: Served with crispy lemon potatoes, sautéed bok choy, parsley, toasted almonds, capers, and a lemon beurre blanc.¹⁴

   

• Entrée-sized Pastas: Known for hand-rolled pasta, such as the Pici (thick spaghetti-like strands with no egg) that was previously paired with a flavorful duck ragù and “crispy bits” of dehydrated duck skin.¹⁵

   

Sweets

• The Colombian: A rich, multi-layered dessert of chocolate mousse and dulce de leche, interspersed with chocolate dacquoise and encased in a chocolate coating.¹⁶

   

• Apple Tartlet: With almond cream and apple filling.¹⁷

   

Customer Feedback

Customer feedback consistently highlights the restaurant’s high-quality food, warm atmosphere, and exceptional seafood freshness:

• “Remarkable food + great company” is a theme, emphasizing the restaurant’s success as both a culinary and social destination.¹⁸

   

• Reviews often praise Chef Kara Decker’s bold and inventive cooking, noting her ability to guide diners to new ways of looking at familiar foods with forward flavors that complement one another.¹⁹

   

• The raw bar is a major draw, with “buck-a-shuck” happy hours being particularly thronged.²⁰

   

Significant Events

While specific historical dates were not detailed, the restaurant is known for hosting and creating various significant culinary and private events:²¹

• Themed and Collaborative Dinners: They frequently host Pop-Up Nights, special dinners with their fishmongers, and collaborative dinners with other local chefs.²² These events are used to allow the kitchen to experiment with seasonal flavors and test new dishes.²³

   

• Private Dining: The venue is available 7 days a week for semi-private or full venue events (Lunch, Brunch, or Dinner), accommodating up to 75 people, and offers customized menu packages.²⁴

   

Location and Contact Information

Note on Dining: 100 Steps Kitchen + Raw Bar is a BYOB establishment.

100 Steps Kitchen + Raw Bar, located in Cranford, New Jersey, is highly regarded as a premier seafood and New American restaurant. It successfully blends a sophisticated culinary experience with a warm, social atmosphere.

The restaurant has a Google Maps rating of 4.6 stars.

What Makes It Unique & Its History

Unique Concept:

100 Steps is intentionally modeled after the great supper clubs of the past, striving to be a “social club” where guests enjoy remarkable food and company. The ambiance encourages interaction, where patrons often run into neighbors and friends, turning a meal into a social event.

Raw Bar Focus:

Its defining feature is the raw bar, which showcases exceptionally fresh seafood. The restaurant prides itself on working with what they consider one of the best fishmongers in the business, sourcing fish and shellfish direct from the boat every day. This commitment to freshness is foundational to their menu.

Historical Chapter: The Return of Chef Kara Decker:

A significant part of the restaurant’s history is the partnership between proprietor Jack Tagmouti and Executive Chef Kara Decker. Chef Decker was instrumental in the original concept, design, and launch of 100 Steps. Her return, after the restaurant’s reinvention, has solidified its culinary direction. A graduate of The French Culinary Institute, Chef Decker is known for her bold, inventive cooking—a “gutsy, decidedly un-shy” style that focuses on elevated Mediterranean repertoire, often tweaking and fortifying classic dishes with creative, seasonal touches.

Highlight Menu Items

Chef Decker’s menu is seasonal and globally inspired, with a strong focus on high-quality ingredients.

Customer Feedback

Customers frequently praise the dining experience, noting that the restaurant exceeds expectations for a local New Jersey spot.

• Atmosphere and Service: Many reviews highlight the comfortable, social, and warm environment, often calling it a “superb atmosphere” with impeccable service.
• Quality of Ingredients: The freshness of the raw bar is a consistent point of praise, particularly the variety and quality of the oysters.
• Culinary Innovation: Chef Decker’s willingness to “push at the edges of possibilities” is noted, with her dishes praised for their complementary and bold flavors—such as the smoky, complex grilled octopus.

Significant Events

Beyond daily dining, 100 Steps Kitchen + Raw Bar hosts a variety of special happenings that allow the team to flex its creative muscles:

• Pop-Up Nights and Collaborative Dinners: These events are a way for the kitchen to experiment with seasonal flavors, test out new dishes, and collaborate with other local chefs and vendors.
• Special Fishmonger Dinners: These focus on the daily-sourced seafood and often involve the fishmonger to highlight the quality and origin of the ingredients.
• Private Events: The venue is available 7 days a week for both semi-private and full venue events, accommodating up to 75 people for corporate meetings, family celebrations, brunches, lunches, or dinners, with customized menu packages available.

Address, Contact, and Links

Note: 100 Steps Kitchen + Raw Bar is a BYOB establishment.